Resperate Review: Does It Work?

Resperate is a portable therapeutic device used for slow guided breathing exercises. Resperate is approved by the FDA for reducing blood pressure in people with hypertension. What is the main breathing problem for people with heart disease? Does it work?

Breathing and heart disease

Condition	Minute ventilation	Number of patients	References (click below for abstracts)
Normal breathing	6 l/min	-	Medical textbooks
Healthy Subjects	6-7 L/min	>400	Results of 14 studies
Heart disease	15 (±4) l/min	22	Dimopoulou et al, 2001
Heart disease	16 (±2) l/min	11	Johnson et al, 2000
Heart disease	12 (±3) l/min	132	Fanfulla et al, 1998
Heart disease	15 (±4) l/min	55	Clark et al, 1997
Heart disease	13 (±4) l/min	15	Banning et al, 1995
Heart disease	15 (±4) l/min	88	Clark et al, 1995
Heart disease	14 (±2) l/min	30	Buller et al, 1990
Heart disease	16 (±6) l/min	20	Elborn et al, 1990

We see that heart patients breathe too much air (too fast and too deeply 24/7). Therefore, it is logical that they have low oxygen levels in the heart and all other vital organs. What does Resperate do in relation to breathing? The device generates audio tones, one sound for inhalation and another, longer sound for exhalation. Thus, instead of the usual 18-20 breaths per minute (common in moderate hypertension), the person breathes only about 10 breaths per minute.

Resperate clinical trials

Resperate has had 10 published trials that support the claim that its regular use (15 min per day) can reduce blood pressure by about 14/8 mm Hg points (for systolic/diastolic blood pressure values) in 2 months.

It is known that regularly measuring blood pressure also gradually reduces blood pressure. For example, the average control treatment reduction in Resperate studies in control groups was about 9/4 mm Hg. Hence, Resperate produced an additional blood pressure reduction of 5/4 mm Hg. Meanwhile, about 10% of people with very high blood pressure had a decrease of up to 36/20 mm Hg, and this fact also requires explanation. How does it work? Why do some people achieve normal blood pressure, while other people do not get any positive effects?

Resperate Review: How Does It Work?

Hyperventilation reduces arterial CO2 levels, while CO2 is the most potent known vasodilator. As a result, vasoconstriction causes tissue hypoxia in all vital organs (the heart muscle included).

These physiological facts clearly demonstrate that arterial hypocapnia (CO2 deficiency) is a norm in hypertension and heart disease. As a result, the arteries and arterioles are in a state of spasm.

When Resperate guided-breathing sessions are conducted, relaxation is crucial for success. The device slightly encourages longer exhalations (sometimes below the functional residual capacity), but inhalations are passive, and this leads to very gradual accumulation of CO2 in the lungs and arterial blood. This additional CO2 dilates blood vessels, according to the laws of physiology, reduces heart rate and blood pressure. Most importantly, this Resperate review suggests that breathing exercises with Resperate are able to increase body-oxygen levels.

How to improve Resperate's effects

Resperate is an effective initial step in breathing retraining and its effects depend on changes in automatic or unconscious breathing patterns. Therefore, its efficiency can be dramatically improved if the person follows healthy lifestyle changes that make breathing slower.

These ideas have been developed by over 150 Russian medical doctors who successfully applied breathing retraining on thousands of people with heart disease and hypertension. Furthermore, Russian MDs proved that when people with hypertension have more than 25 s for the body-oxygen test 24/7, they have normal blood pressure and do not require medication to control hypertension.

Among the key factors that help to slow down automatic breathing patterns are: physical exercise with nose breathing only, prevention of mouth breathing during sleep, prevention of supine sleep positions, eating only when hungry, and many others. A short summary of positive and negative lifestyle factors can be found on the web page Hyperventilation treatment. A more detailed description of healthy lifestyle factors is outlined in the Section Learn here.

Note. The Frolov breathing device, according to Russian clinical trials, produces even a better effect on blood pressure due to a larger blood pressure decrease in patients with hypertension.

Reference pages: Breathing norms and medical facts:
- Breathing norms: Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
- 6 breathing myths: Myths and superstitions about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
- Hyperventilation: Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
- Hyperventilation syndrome: Western scientific evidence about prevalence of chronic hyperventilation in patients with chronic conditions (37 medical studies)
- Normal minute ventilation: Small and slow breathing at rest is enjoyed by healthy subjects (14 studies)
- Hyperventilation prevalence: Present in over 90% of normal people (24 medical studies)
- HV and hypoxia: How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
- Body-oxygen test (CP test) : How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (two in one) using a simple DIY test
- Body oxygen in healthy: Results for the body-oxygen test for healthy people (27 medical studies)
- Body oxygen in sick : Results for the body-oxygen test for sick people (14 medical studies)
- Buteyko Table of Health Zones: Clinical description and ranges for breathing zones: from the critically ill (severely sick) up to super healthy people with maximum possible body oxygenation
- Morning hyperventilation: Why people feel worse and critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References: pages about CO2 effect:
- Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
- The Bohr effect: How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
- Cell oxygen levels: How alveolar CO2 influences oxygen transport
- Oxygen transport: O2 transport is controlled by vasoconstriction-vasodilation and the Bohr effects, both of which rely on CO2
- Free radical generation: Reactive oxygen species are produced within cells due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia
- Inflammatory response: Chronic inflammation in fueled by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces and eliminates inflammation
- Nerve stabilization: People remain calm due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
- Muscle relaxation: Relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
- Bronchodilation: Dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) is caused by carbon dioxide, and their constriction by hypocapnia (low CO2)
- Blood pH: Regulation of blood pH due to breathing and regulation of other bodily fluids
- CO2: lung damage: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents lung injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
- CO2: Topical carbon dioxide can heal skin and tissues
- Synthesis of glutamine in the brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
- Deep breathing myth: Ignorant and naive people promote the idea that deep breathing and breathing more air at rest is beneficial for health
- Breathing control: How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven, irregular and erratic.

References
Elliott W, Izzo J, Device-Guided Breathing to Lower Blood Pressure: Case Report and Clinical Overview, Medscape General Medicine, 2006; 8(3).

Or go back to Breathing techniques

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